“I can carry her,” Bruce insists.
“Sorry, Daddy.” The receptionist smiles kindly. “Hospital policy.”
None of us bother to tell her she’s wrong, that he’s not the daddy. It wouldn’t matter anyway; Bruce grunts his disapproval, which has her picking up her pace to meet us with a wheelchair at the door that leads into the hospital.
The next half hour or so is a flurry of activity. I’m wheeled to the maternity ward and assigned a room. With Raven and the nurse, whose name I don’t catch, I’m stripped out of my clothes and cleaned up as best as can be before sliding into a hospital gown. They help me into bed, where a monitor is placed on my baby bump, and an IV is placed in my arm.
“I’m starving,” Raven whines.
“Shush it.” I glare at her. “You know it’s nothing but ice chips for me until baby boy makes his appearance,” I remind her.
“Sorry.” She manages to look guilty.
“Have one of the ‘gang’”I make air quotes“grab you something.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I’m fine. And you’re not eating in front of me.” I give her a pointed look.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Raven,” I sigh. “I’ll be here for hours. I’m only three centimeters right now. You heard the doctor. This isn’t a quick thing for most women, especially with their first baby. Go get something to eat.”
“I don’t want you to be alone.”
“I’m going to rest like the doctor suggested. I’ll be fine. Go eat.”
“I’m sending someone in to relieve me while I’m gone,” she concedes.
“Fine.” I barely avoid rolling my eyes. “Take care of you.”
“Who’s going to take care of the two of you?” she asks, tears swimming in her eyes.
“I’m in good hands here. Go.”
“Okay.” She stands and stretches. “I’ll be quick.”
I laugh. “Raven, I’m not going anywhere.” I hold up the IV in my arm and point at my belly. “Having a baby, remember?”
She grins. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Well, go fill your belly. We don’t want you to be hangry the first time you hold your nephew.”
Her smile brightens. “I’ll be back.” She disappears out of my room, and I pull in a deep breath.
I love my sister and our friends, but I need a minute. Just a minute. Today is the day I meet my son. My eyes mist with tears, but I blink them away. I can’t help but think about Hudson. I wish things were different. I wish he were here with me. It’s still hard for me to comprehend that he ignored not one but two letters telling him about our son.
“Knock, knock.” I hear a male voice. Turning toward the door, I see Jacob’s smiling face.
“Hey, Jake.”
“Hey, gorgeous.” He grins. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” I nod.
He saunters over to the chair Raven was sitting in and pulls it close to the bed. “I had to fight Bruce to come see you.” He laughs.
“What?”
“Not really. He just claimed that he’s going to be the favorite uncle and that he should get to come back first.”
“He’s too much.” I shake my head in amusement.
“Right? We all know that you and Raven are closest to Hud and Clay. If anyone is going to claim that title, it’s going to be them.”
I swallow hard. “You’re not fighting for that claim?”
“I know how to choose my battles.” He chuckles. “Really, how are you, Riles?”
I nod. “Nervous. Excited. Anxious, and so many other things.”
“You’re going to nail this mom thing. You know that, right? Even with the sperm donor out of the picture, we’re never going to let him wonder what it would be like to have a dad. Bruce, Brett, Clay, and Hudson, you’ve got us, and we’ll make damn sure your son gets guy time.”
I lose my battle with tears. “T-Thanks, Jake,” I manage to croak.
“Hey.” He stands and uses his thumb to wipe at my tears. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted you to know that we’re all here for you. I don’t know if any of us have come out and said it, and I know I can speak for Clay and Hud too. We all love you, and we’re going to be the best damn uncles this little boy has ever seen.”
A contraction hits, and the tears come faster. It’s not the pain. Although that’s intense, it serves as a good distraction for the water leaking from my eyes. Jacob holds my hand through it and then shakes it out like I actually hurt him.
“All right, I’m going to let the others take a turn before there’s a riot in the waiting room.” He stands to leave.
“Tell them they don’t have to wait. We don’t know how long this is going to take. Everyone should go home and get some rest.”
“Would you go home and get some rest if it was one of the other girls? Or one of us guys in the hospital?”